Liquid ejector and applicator



Aug. 16, 1955 TERENO 2,715,236

LIQUID EJECTOR AND APPLICATOR Filed April 7, 1953 INVENTOR JACK TERENO.

ATTORNEY United States Patent LIQUID EJECTOR AND APPLICATOR Jack Tereno, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application April 7, 1953, Serial No. 347,363

2 Claims. (Cl. 15-136) This invention relates to liquid ejectors and applicators, more particularly to pressure-controlled devices for ejecting and applying lacquer or other liquid materials to nails, and for other uses where a fluid is to be applied to a localized area in regulated amounts.

It is within the contemplation of my invention to provide an ejector device for producing a one-way flow of a liquid through an outlet aperture. And in a particular application of my invention, it is my objective to provide a lacquer applicator of the type above-mentioned that will obviate the necessity of performing the separate steps required by conventional methods, such as the repeated steps of dipping and liquid application. Inaccurate applications frequently result from such conventional methods, due to the unavoidable interruption between the steps of dipping and applying the fluid. According to the device of my invention, the application of a liquid to a specific localized area is simplified and rendered more accurate than is possible with conventional methods.

It is a further specific object of my invention to enable the user thereof to effect such control over the amount and direction of application as cannot be obtained either with the above-referred-to conventional method, or with gravity controlled fountain-type devices in which a reservoir communicates with an applicator tip. My objective is to provide a fountain-type of applicator having a region for manual grasping which is close to the applicator tip, substantially in the manner in which a writing implement is held, so as to assure an accurate guiding movement of the tip to a specific localized area. And according to the structure of my invention, convenient means are employed in such region for applying pressure to eject a controlled quantity of fluid through the applicator tip. In this aspect of my invention it is a further important object to prevent a back surge of the fluid during the application of such pressure, so that the effective pressure will be eficiently utilized solely for operatively ejecting the fluid.

It is within my contemplation to provide a relatively inexpensive and readily fabricated device having the features above-mentioned.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings and description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a top elevation of the applicator of my invention, a fragment being broken away for clarity.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged top view of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section of Figure 3 taken substantially along line 55, showing the ejector and valve member in open inoperative positions.

Figure 6 is a section of Figure 5 taken substantially along line 6-6.

Figure 7 is a view substantially like that of Figure 5, but showing the device engaged by two fingers and the Fr CC ejector and valve member in a deformed closed and operative position, the device having fluid therein.

Figure 8 is a section of Figure 7 taken substantially along line 77.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the said ejector and valve member.

In the form of my invention illustrated, a hollow casing 10 is provided at the forward portion thereof with an applicator tip member 11 containing the brush 12 therein, a rear closure cap 13 with a slotted head 14 and a shank 15 in threaded engagement with the aperture 16 in the flat rear wall 17, and an ejector and valve member 18 to be hereinafter described. The inner chamber 19 of casing 10 is adapted to contain a suitable fluid, such as cosmetic nail lacquer, introduced through said aperture 16, the chamber being, under certain conditions, in direct communication with said brush 12. The arrangement is such that the device may be grasped in the regions of the narrow neck 21) and said member 18, both relatively close to the tip member 11, for close guiding and accurate application of the brush 12 to a selected localized area, and the liquid within the casing 11 ejected by positive and controlled manual action.

The forward terminal portion 21 of casing 10 is openended and preferably elliptical, the aperture 22 being also elliptical and proportioned to receive therethrough the rearwardly extending elliptical boss 23 of tip member 11. The bristles of brush 12 are secured within the recess 24 of the tip member 11, the free rear portion 25 of the brush being disposed at the forward end of the passageway 26 in said tip member, the rear terminal of said passageway having a rearwardly flared wall 27 communicating with the forward discharge compartment 28 of casing 10. In the embodiment illustrated, boss 23 is forcefitted into engagement with the inner cylindrical wall 29 of terminal portion 21 of the casing, a gasket 30 being disposed between the shoulder 31 of tip member 11 and the front end of the casing to provide a tight seal.

The upper front portion of said casing contains the elliptical apertured portion 32 to the peripheral portion of which is secured the ferrule or metal rim 33 containing the outer peripheral lip 34 overlapping and engaging the adjacent portion of casing 10, said rim being forcefitted or otherwise secured into place. The inner wall of said rim 33 contains an annular groove 35 into which extends the marginal portion 36 of the resilient fingerdisc 37 constituting part of said member 18.

As will be noted from Figures 3, 5 and 9, said member 18 is of rubber, although it may be made, for the purposes of this invention, of other yieldable or resilient construction. It comprises a shallow cup-shaped fingerreceiving wall constituting the said disc 37, a downwardly extending flexible valve wall 38 extending across opposite peripheral portions of the disc 37, and a rib 39 joining substantially the medial portion 40 of the bottom edge 41 of wall 38 with the underside of the said disc 37 at a point 42 rearwardly of said wall 38. In the preferred construction, the wall 38 extends across the minor axis or short diameter of the substantially elliptical disc 37, is almost normal in its general downward extent to a plane extending across opposite peripheries of the disc, and has a rearwardly curving lower section 41a. The said bottom edge 41 joins the opposite lateral edges 43 of wall 33 to form a continuous peripheral edge shaped and proportioned to contact the respective lateral sides 44 and the floor 45 of the adjacent portion of the inner walls of chamber 19 when member 18 is in its operatively depressed and closing position illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, thereby to provide an obstruction between chamber 19the rear or storage portion of casing 10and the said forward discharge compartment 28 thereof.

hits operationythe device is grasped at its forward portion, in the region of neck 20 and disc 37-, and-held preferably, although not necessarily, in a generally downwardly direction, the fingers guiding the brush 12 to the point of-application.-- As indicated in Figure 7, a finger the lower edge 41 thereof is in engagement with floor'45;

In this position, the said lateral edges 43 of wall 38 as well as the bottom edge 41 are in engagement with the said lateral walls 44 and floor 45 ofthe casing, thereby completely sealing off the dischargecompartmentds from: :chamber 19. Hence, the Wall- 38, :acting as a closure valve, serves to prevent any of the fluid 46 from backinglinto the'rear chamber -19, so that the inward pressure against disc v37 is effective only in ejecting the fluid from the discharge compartmentout through the brush," This not only results in etficient operation, but it alsopermits accurate control of the amount of liquid being ejected.

It will be noted from Figures 7 and 8 that the down-' ward pressure applied to disc 37 causes a rearward deflection and distortionof lower portion'41a of the wall 38 when it engages the floor 45, this also causing a corresponding lateral distortion of the rib 39. When the pressure is released, the elasticity of said wall 38 and rib 39 will bring them back to their original undistorted conditions, thereby urging said disc 37 upwardly; and the elasticity of said disc 37 will also cause it to return to its normal convex condition illustrated in Figures and 6. In this position, the lower peripheral edge ,41 of said wall 38 is spaced above the floor 25, leaving an aperture or gate 47 throughwhich fluid in chamber -19 canpass to the discharge chamber 28.

It should be noted that the said rib 39 not onlyserves itsaforesaid function of aiding in the return of disc 37 and wall 38 to their normal undistorted conditions, but also constitutes a reinforcing member to maintain said wall 38 in its normal position relative to disc 37.

' It is thus apparent that by means of the novel structure of ejector and valve member 18, a simultaneous ejection of fluid is obtained as well as aninterposition of a barrier behind the discharge compartment to prevent a back surge of any fluid. The unit 18 is of simple construction readily adapted to be molded and inserted by a simple assembly operation into the casing 10.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many ejector variations and modications may be made therein. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is notlimited to any specific formv or manner of practicing same, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an ejector device, a casing having therein a fluidcontaining chamber and an outlet portion, and an ejector and valve member of resilient material and comprising a depressable disc portion disposed in the wall of the casing and a valve partition extending downwardly from" 4= said disc portion transversely into said chamber and disposed intermediate'theextent thereof to divide said chamber into a forward discharge compartment and a rear storage compartment, said member being movable between an inoperative retracted position, when the said disc portion is in its normal undepressed condition, and an operative projected position when the disc portion is in its depressed condition, said partition being proportioned to extend entirely across and engage the adjacent inner wall 'of the chamber along the entire periphery of the partition to completely separate said forward and rear compartments when the said member is in its said projected position; a peripheral portion of'said partition being spaced fromsaid inner wall of the chamber to provide a passageway between the two said compartments when the member is in its said normal inoperative position, said disc portion being of substantially elliptical peripheral contour, said partition extending transversely across the-minor axis of the disc portion, the bottom part of-the partition being curved rearwardly and away from said outlet portion and being spaced from the bottomsurface of the said chamber to provide said passageway between the two said compartments-when the member is in its said normal inoperative position.

2. In a liquid applicator, a casing having therein a fluidcontaining chamber, an outlet portion, a brush member in theoutlet portion and an'apertured portion in the wall of the forward portion of the casing at the rear of said outlet portion, an ejector and valve member of resilient material and comprising a depressable disc portion disposed in said apertured portion and a valve partition extending downwardly fromsaid disc portion transversely into said chamber'and'disposed intermediate the extent thereof to divide said chamber into a forward discharge compartment and 1 innerwall of the chamber to completely separate said forward and "rear compartments when the said member is in its said projected position, a peripheral portion of said partition being spaced from said inner wall of the chain her to provide a passageway between the two said com- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 579,135 Cooper Mar. 23, 1897 2,101,310 Callaghan Dec, 7, 1937 2,185,608' Rose Jan. 2, 1940 2,611,515

Smith .1... Sept..23, 1952 

